BROWNVILLE

On August 29, 1854, shortly after the Kansas-Nebraska Act had
opened the territory west of the Missouri River to permanent settlement,
Richard Brown arrived on the site of the town which was to bear
his name. Other settlers soon followed.

Brownville quickly became one of the leading towns and cultural
centers in the new territory. Located on the river, it became
a transfer point for westbound wagon caravans. Here Daniel Freeman
filed his homestead claim, recognized as the first in the nation.
Brownville was also the site of the first telegraph office in
Nebraska.

In 1872, both party candidates for governor were from Brownville.
Robert W. Furnas, the Republican, won. Furnas had come to Brownville
in 1856 and established one of the state's first newspapers, the
Nebraska Advertiser. T.W. Tipton, another Brownville resident,
served in the U.S. Senate from 1867 to 1875.

Desirous of attracting a railroad, the town approved a huge
bond issue in the late 1860's. The contracting company built only
ten miles of track. Deeply in debt, and without a railroad, Brownville
was abandoned by many residents.